Gluten-Free and Vegan Red-White-and-Blue Cupcakes

At our house, we like to have a recipe for EVERY holiday. This is another (modified) family recipe, handed down for at least 4 generations. It started as a recipe for pineapple upside down cake, morphed into a strawberry cake, then became vegan for my eggless relative–then suddenly it was gluten-free, too. But, it doesn’t matter what it used to be…because, it makes the lightest, fluffiest cupcakes you’ve ever eaten. But, be warned, once you’ve had one of these Gluten-Free & Vegan Red-White-and-Blue Cupcakes, you can’t stop. I mean, really, you’ll be licking the crumbs off the plate.

If you’re not into the whole making of the Gluten-Free & Vegan Red-White-and-Blue Cupcakes from scratch, you can do a little back-door action with this awesome gluten-free & vegan cake mix. I ordered my own set and was quite impressed with the results (although I just made plain vanilla ones…long story, but needless to say, my husband is kind of cupcaked-out for the time being).

Gluten-Free & Vegan Red-White-and-Blue Cupcakes

Be warned, once you've had one of these Gluten-Free & Vegan Red-White-and-Blue Cupcakes, you can't stop. I mean, really, you'll be licking the crumbs off the plate.

Course:
Dessert

Cuisine:
American

Servings: 18

Author: NerdyMamma.com

Ingredients

1/4cupvegan Butter or Margarineroom temperature (I like Earth's Balance--but am open to suggestion if there's another brand you want to let me know about in the comments that works as well)

3/4cupgranulated Sugar

3tblspns aquafababean juice - my daughter insisted that I try this...and she was right, it works, but don't tell her I told you that

1-1/4cupsgluten-free Flour mix...I used Bob's Red Mill

1-1/2tspBaking Powder

1/4tspSalt

1tspn white Vinegar

1/2cupCoconut Milkjust the cereal kind, not the canned kind

1tspCLEAR Vanilla

Icing

1cupCoconut Creamthis is the stuff you scoop out of the can of coconut milk after it's been in the fridge over night. I found the cheaper the can of coconut milk, the more cream you'll get

1/2cupgranulated Sugar

1tspCLEAR Vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350⁰.

Place paper baking cups in 12 muffin tins.

Cream the Butter or Margarine and gradually add Sugar.

Add aquafaba and beat well. Set aside.

Combine dry ingredients and stir.

Add 1/3 of dry ingredient mixture to butter and sugar mixture, mix.

Combine Coconut Milk, Vinegar and Vanilla, and add 1/3 of milk and vanilla mixture to other mixture, mix well.

Alternately add 1/3 of dry ingredients and 1/3 of milk and vanilla, mixing well between additions.

Divide batter into 3 equal parts.

Add red food coloring to one portion of batter, and blue food coloring to another.

Spoon about a tablespoon of each color batter into paper baking cups (white so you can see through them kinda) beginning with blue batter, then white (or uncolored), then red--cups should be about 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake for approximately 12 - 14 minutes.

While that's baking, in a large mixing bowl, beat Coconut Cream on high until it begins to thicken.

Add Sugar and Vanilla.

Continue beating on high until the mixture becomes stiff and holds its shape.

Spoon into piping bag and top cupcakes (or just slap it on there with a knife if you're not feeling the piping bag like me).

Adorn with red and blue sprinkles.

Enjoy!

So, what do you think of my Gluten-Free & Vegan Red-White-and-Blue Cupcakes? If you try them, drop me a line in the comments below to let me know how they turn out for you!